The early hopes seemed to be dashed to
the ground when the bereaved monks of
Molesme obtained a papal command for Robert to return to his former charge, and a
good number of the monks of the New Monastery opted to return with him. Alberic
accepted the abbatial crozier at the New Monastery, and the little community struggled
on. To insure the monks the freedom they needed to live the Rule of Benedict to the full
and at the same time save the monastery from depending on outsiders, Alberic
introduced into the Cistercian community committed lay men who took vows as lay
brothers. These men, fully members of the community, would take charge of the
temporal management both at the abbey and at its dependencies, leaving the monks
with the possibility of following literally the program laid out by Saint Benedict. Alberic
also fostered the development of a scriptorium at Citeaux to insure the monks with an
abundance of good material for their lectio divina (sacred reading). The fine illuminated
manuscripts in the municipal library at Dijon bear witness to the fruitfulness of his
endeavor. He also encouraged those studies which would contribute to this, such as
their Prior Stephen Harding's study of Hebrew and Greek to produce a new and more
accurate translation of the Bible.
